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Thursday, December 31, 2020
Trade pact with the EU in force
Queen approves British Brexit law
The game of hanging is over: after the approval of the British House of Commons, Queen Elizabeth II signs the trade pact with the EU. A tough economic rift between Britain and the EU is now off the table shortly before the deadline.
The way is clear for the Brexit trade pact between Britain and the European Union. Queen Elizabeth II, as British head of state, put the ratification law into effect on Thursday night, as House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle said.
The deal will avoid a sharp economic breakdown if Britain also leaves the EU internal market and customs union on Friday night. The EU itself had already left the country at the end of January 2020. Both houses of Parliament in London had previously approved the document.
“The fate of this great country is now firmly in our hands,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. “On December 31 at 11 pm (local time) a new beginning in the history of our country will begin and a new relationship with the EU as its closest ally. That moment has finally come and now is the time to seize it, ”he said. Johnson.
The nearly 1,250-page trade and association agreement regulates economic relations after the Brexit transition phase starting on January 1, 2021. This avoids fees and keeps friction losses in retail as low as possible. At the same time, many other issues are regulated, including fisheries and cooperation on energy, transport, justice, police.
Still, there are big changes. In future, controls will be necessary at the borders because the rules have to be checked, even for agricultural products. For citizens, the ability to simply move is over. Visa-free travel will also be time-limited in the future.
EU leaders had already signed the Brexit trade pact this morning. After the head of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the president of the EU Council, Charles Michel, signed the document, he was flown to London on a British Air Force plane. Prime Minister Johnson signed the agreement there. Britain had already left the European Union at the end of January 2020. The Brexit transition phase agreed at that time is ending.
